What happened with the Oakland Athletics in Nevada on Tuesday?

While fans tried to send a message to A’s owners to stay in the Bay Area, the Oakland Athletics moved one step closer on Tuesday to securing a stadium deal in Nevada.

Here’s what we know:

What happened in Nevada Tuesday?

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and multiple reports, the Nevada Senate approved SB-1, the A’s stadium bill, by a vote of 13-8. This is the first step in the team locking up $380 million in public funding for the construction of a new stadium along the Las Vegas Strip.

Two amendments, according to the Nevada Independent, were added to the bill which ultimately helped it move out of the Senate.

Two extensive amendments to the A’s stadium bill unveiled Tuesday morning would explicitly tie the proposed $1.5 billion baseball stadium site to the location of the Tropicana Las Vegas, expand the scope of the team’s community benefits agreement, speed up the distribution of certain excess revenue into a homelessness prevention fund and revive two bills vetoed earlier this month by Gov. Joe Lombardo.

What’s next for the Athletics in Nevada?

There are still a few more steps before Las Vegas officially becomes the home of the A’s. The Nevada Assembly is set to hear the bill next. If approved, the bill goes to Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo to sign.

If all of that happens, then the MLB owners would vote for the team’s relocation, with 75% needed for approval.

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Senate votes: 13 yea, 8 nay. A's owner John Fisher winning in Nevada with his $380 million publicly funded ballpark bill. It now goes to the assembly. Then the governor. Then the baseball owners.

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) June 13, 2023

Oakland A’s stadium deal timeline

The team began the process of relocating to Las Vegas earlier this year, when they announced not one, but two binding land deals.

First, the A’s announced an agreement with Red Rock Resorts to purchase 49 acres of land in Las Vegas. Less than a month later, a second binding agreement was announced between the A’s and Bally’s Corp. As time progressed, the two sides formally announced an agreement for a new baseball stadium along the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the Tropicana Hotel.

In the agreement between the team and Bally’s Corp., the Oakland A’s will have access to nine acres on the 35-acre site located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue to build a 30,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof. The Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. [GLPI] also agreed to fund “up to $175 million towards certain shared improvements within the future development in exchange for a commensurate rent increase.”

If the plan goes through, the team could break ground on the new stadium in 2024 with games beginning in Las Vegas as early as 2028. Total construction is estimated to be around $1.5 billion.

The team released stadium renderings before the Memorial Day weekend, with the sole joint-committee hearing taking place on the Memorial Day holiday. While the initial bill, SB-509, didn’t pass the Nevada Legislature before they adjourned Monday, June 5, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo called a special session for the Legislature two days later.

If the move comes to fruition, Las Vegas would be the fourth home for the franchise. The team originates from Philadelphia where they played from 1901-1954. The Athletics then moved to Kansas City until 1968, when they relocated to Oakland. The A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum ends after the 2024 season.

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